


Soul's Shadow

by TippyTopDays



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Reader Insert, Reader is an ass from the getgo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-20 22:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11344152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TippyTopDays/pseuds/TippyTopDays
Summary: Where darkness resides, so does evil. And sometimes it's closer than you first perceive.But don't be afraid. For now it seems, it's of no consequence to you. Now isn't it?Also on tumblr https://piteossbane.tumblr.com/





	1. Prologue: The Day's Young

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Irritated siblings, Sassy Reader, So so many red flags, Foreboding imagery

Darkness ever surrounding. Water plick placking against stone. The smell of mold and priceless, ancient metals rusting in their forgotten tomb.

A damp, arid cave system, deep underground. No one had been there for hundreds of years, the dust and pebbles long settled and soaked by gallons of water as time passed. The satchels of stolen gold and priceless jewlery and ornaments were left to rot, abandoned by the thieves that had stolen them.

And along with the piles of wasted treasure, in the center of the room, stood a stone pedestal. And on that pedestal, was a simple, metal box. There were no ornate markings etched into it’s body, no gems bejeweled; just a simple, plain box, with a small metal chain keeping it closed. Unlike the lost treasures, the box had no blemishes, no marks of age. It looked just as new as the day it was made, as if frozen in time. Among the gold and jewels and other objects deemed shiny it glowed in comparison, still perfect and untarnished.

And as that box sat on that pedestal all by itself somewhere, beyond the sound of dripping water, above the smell of rot, were the sound of footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Something, was waiting.  
____________________________________

_3 weeks ago, Duscae outskirts…._

“You dumbass, did you get us lost again?!”

“No, dipshit I didn’t! I know exactly where we are.”

“Oh really? Well then prove it smartass! Where are we? Huh?!”

The male glares down at you, irritated before looking around, pushing his brown hair out of his eyes before setting a hand over his face to shield his eyes from the sun. He turns about in a circle, looking in every direction before he threw his hands up,“Alright, alright! I admit, I can’t recognize anything right now, but-Shut your mouth right now before I punch you.”

You pouted, crossing your arms and blowing a raspberry at him. He rolls his brown eyes and continues,“Anyways, like I was saying,” He glares at you pointedly,“I can’t recognize anything here. But if I was higher up I probably would.”

You gave him a look, raising one delicate brow,“Uh huh, yeah sure. And I’m a compass.”

He snorts and rolls his eyes,“Some compass you are,” Before you can retort he points towards one of the nearby rock formations,“See, look, that place is high enough. I’ll climb up there and see where we are, and then!” He pokes your nose,“We’ll see who’s right.” And trots off towards the formation, leaving you in his dust.

You roll your eyes as he starts his ascent,“Dumbass is an absolutely useless navigator.” You turn away, crossing your arms,“Bet he could find the damn house even if it walked up and smacked his a-” Before you could finish, the sight of a familiar building catches your eye. Blinking owlishly you cast a glance back at the rock formation, where the male was still trying to climb it and failing.

You sigh, shoulders sagging,“Dumbass…” You mutter to yourself before cupping a hand around your mouth,“Yo! Zor bait!”

He groans loudly in irritation, throwing his head around,“What, bitch!?”

You make a show of pointing towards your house, turning your hand in a circle,“Home’s that way, loser.”

He looks in the direction you’re pointing. For a moment he’s quiet, staring dumbly before glaring at you,“Well I didn’t see it No-Nuts.” He jumps off, landing on his feet before walking towards you, brushing himself off,“You must have been in my way. Now come on, Mom’s waiting for us.” 

He motions for you to follow and you do, throwing your head back haughtily,“I’m still the one who found it.” You turn and poke him in the bicep,“You’re the one who was trying to become bird bait.”

He smacks your hand away,“Fuck off, bitch.” Despite the swear there’s no more bite to his words, a small amused grin on his face.

You stick your tongue out at him,“Make me, Dickhead.” You jump away squealing when he swipes at you and run away, your brother hot on your heels as you both race home in the hot desert sun.

But far away, on an empty highway heading perpendicular to your path was a very handsome vehicle, toting it’s passengers off on their own adventure.


	2. Start Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Friend’s Getting Annoyed, Reader the Sass Master, Cactaur Needles Where They Should Not Be, Bratty Princes

“Iggyyyy, are we there yeeet?”

The strategist raised a brow but did not turn around,“We will reach the next settlement within the hour, Prompto.” His head tilted in the gunman’s general direction without actually looking at him.“I’m certain you can manage that.”

The blonde groaned, leaning his head against the headrest,“But I’m hungryyy.”

Gladio chimed in from the back seat,“You should have said that back at the haven, ya know. Before we left.”

Prompto took off his seatbelt and turned around, hands on the seat,“But I wasn’t hungry back then! And I thought I would make it to the next town but, I guess I was wrong.” He said, shrugging.

“Please sit properly, Prompto. I don’t need you getting in an accident.”

“Aw Iggy, you care about me.” Prompto teased but did as he asked, the seatbelt clicking closed.

Ignis was quick to fire back,“I simply don’t want you to get hurt.” A small simper touched his lips,“After all it would be tiresome to be stuck looking for a replacement gunman.” 

“Hey!” He protested over Gladio’s chuckling.

“Will you both be quiet?” Tired blue eyes leered at both of them from the backseat,“I’m trying to sleep.”

Prompto turned around and grinned at the Prince’s irritated scowl,“Sorry man, I’m just so hungry.” 

“You already said that…”

“But I am!”

Gladio groans, rubbing his face with a hand,“Both of you stop it, you’re making me hungry.” He smiles cheekily at them both,“But unlike you two, I have my own food on hand. And no I’m not sharing.” He quickly adds when Prompto looks at him eagerly.

Prompto groans,“Gladio!”, He whines, flopping in his seat,“I’m dying up here, man!”

“I assume you mean your private Cup Noodle stash hidden under your seat, Gladio?” The strategist chips in with a raised brow, casting a brief look to the shield in the rearview mirror as the man’s smug expression dropped,“You didn’t think I wouldn’t notice, now did you?”

Gladio groans under his breath, running a hand through his hair,“Yeah, kinda..” He looked up when he heard Prompto gasp from the front seat,“But I’m still not sharin’.” He stated, leering at the seat in front of him.

“I didn’t expect you to,” Ignis clarified over Prompto’s bemoaned groan, glancing at Gladio in the rearview,“After all, they are yours to do as you please with.” He punctuates his sentence with a sip of Ebony, returning his attention to the road.

Everything fell silent for a few long minutes, the vehicle rumbling beneath them as it trekked towards their destination. The air was hot and dry but not unbearable due to their speed, blowing away excess heat away from their bodies as they moved. Somewhere high in the sky a bird flew overhead. Tired blue eyes watched lazily as it swooped through the air gracefully looking for it’s next catch.

The silence was abruptly broken by a loud gurgle.

Noctis groans loudly, whipping his head around to glare at the sound’s origin,“Gladio!”

Said man gives a cheeky smile and shrugs,“What? All this talk about eating made me hungry.”

Prompto made to turn around in his seat again before Ignis gave him a pointed glance and he sat back down. The strategist looks in the rearview mirror at the two in the backseat,“We will return to civilization quite soon, Noct, and then we can all get something to eat. But until then I suggest you keep the talk of food to a minimum.”

Prompto looks over at him,“What? Are you getting hungry too?”

Ignis glances at the gunman, Ebony in hand,“Famished actually.” He brings the can to his lips,“It has been quite some time since we ate breakfast, after all.”

“Yeah, I know.” Noctis chipped in, sitting up from his lazy leaning on the door and glaring at Prompto,“And I was doing just fine until he,” He points at him,“Started talking about lunch.”

“Hey don’t blame me, I’m hungry!”

Ignis inhaled deeply, sighing under his breath as the trio started up again. Getting to the nearest settlement was going to be more of a challenge on his sanity than on his stomach.

It took them only another hour before they’d reached their destination. The town was quaint with only a few shops and a single retro styled diner to keep the town more or less fed. From what the Prince could garner, most of their income came from the nearby Hunter’s hideout as well as their game. Not many people came to their little town and the man was sure to let them know that they were very much welcome there, as long as they could earn their keep.

Which led to their current predicament.

“Cactaurs?! Again?!”

Noctis shrugged half heartedly as he slid into the booth next to Ignis,“Yeah, they’re causing trouble for the local residents. Something about overpopulation or something.” He said, taking a sip of his soda.

Prompto threw his head back with a groan,“But I don’t wanna deal with those running pin cushions again!” He leaned forward and gave Noctis a look, jamming his thumb at himself and whispering under his breath,“I almost got Needled where the sun don’t shine.”

Noctis ignored Gladio’s amused chuckling and shrugged,“Sorry, man, only business they’ve got.”

The blonde sighed, sagging in his seat,“I swear, you’re too nice man.” He muttered before biting into his cheesburger and talking with his mouth full,“So how much will we get out of it?”

“Prompto, please chew your food before you speak.” The strategist sighed, not looking away from the small map he was looking over.

The blonde quickly swallowed and muttered,“Oops, sorry.”

Gladio chose that moment to speak up,“Yeah, how much for chasing down the little runts.” He asked, popping a French fry in his mouth.

“Not much, just a few hundred gil.” The Prince mumbled, currently busying himself with removing his lettuce and setting it on the strategist’s plate,“But he said he knew a guy who sold elixers and that he could probably convince him to give us a discount.”

Ignis finally looked away from his map,“That will certainly be helpful,” He stops talking when he notices the extra vegetables on his plate. He stares for a few moments before sighing, exasperated,“Noct…”

“What.” Is all he gets in response, the Prince too busy with picking off leftover vegetables and already dumping them onto his plate.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, leering dissaprovingly at the Prince,“Noctis, must you?”

“Must I what.” He knew exactly what he was talking about, the little twerp. And he hadn’t stopped what he was doing either, and had actually slowed down his movements so that Ignis could see each and every movement. All Ignis did in response was sigh over Gladio’s sniggering, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Why did he even bother.  
——-

_1 hour ago…._

“Mom, we’re home!” 

“Aeran got us lost again!”

“HEY!”

“Both of you stop!”

You both look away from glaring at each other towards your mother. She stood with her hands on her hips, rolled up paper in hand. She shook her head,“Honestly, both of you need to get along better. You’re fighting like children.” 

You both look away from the other and shuffle your feet,“Sorry, Mom.” You say in unison, eyes cast to the floor. The truce doesn’t last long before you raise a finger and blurt out quickly,“Technically I’m not an adult yet so-” You were cut off with a yelp as your brother jammed an elbow into your side and muttered ‘Shut up!’.

Your mother sighed once more, rubbing the bridge of her nose,“Of course you are, you’re 19. Legally, you are an adult.” She ignored your groaning and unrolled the piece of paper she held,“I managed to find another job for you two.”

Aeren gave your mother a curious look as your jaw clicked shut,“What is it?”

Your eyes sparkled,“Is it another daemon hunt?!”

“(Y/n)!”

“Your brother’s right, (Y/n), it’s not.” Your mother looks up from the paper and gives you a smile as you pout,“As a matter of fact I have something much more your speed.”


	3. Desert Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Duscae, Overly Hot Deserts, Really Annoying Cactaurs, Threatening a Man’s Life, Reader is Done With Your Shit, Couerls, I Might Be Misspelling a Lot of Words, Reader is Ready to Throwdown

The air was hot. Too hot. Typical of Duscae weather there wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sun was beating on both of your backs mercilessly. To top it off, there weren't very many rock structures around this part of the outskirts so there was less shade, your refuge from the sun's wrath. Your only mercy today was the slight breeze wafting across the hot sand, and even that was baking hot.

For once, you wished you didn't need to wear your jacket.

Your brother, Aeren, was in a similar state. Sweat was collecting on his forehead and he had to reach up and wipe it off periodically, raking his fingers through his fringe to get it out of his eyes. 

Neither one of you had spoken except for a few words of confirmation between the two of you before heading out into the wilds of Duscae, hoping to find your quary.

Which had lead you to your current predicament.

"Aeran...."

"What?" He asks, annoyed at being disturbed.

"It has been two whole hours..."

"Yeah? So what?" Paper flutters as the breeze kicks up. He tightens his grip, still not looking at you.

You slowly look over at him with pursed lips, eyes wide.

And filled with unbridled rage.

"You got us lost again!" You shout, smacking him on the arm.

He jolts,"OW! No I didn't!" He backs out of your range, map held tight in his grip,"I have the map!"

You continue to swat at him, sometimes missing because he was trying to bat your hands away,"Doesn't mean you know how to use it, dickhead!" Finally stopping your assault, you step back and spread your arms wide,"Look around, smartass! This whole damn place is flat! How the Hell did you get us lost when you can literally see for over a MILE!?"

Aeren swings his arm at you; you were quick to duck under it as it sailed over your head,"I don't know, navigation's not my thing!"

You give him a look of pure vexation,"If it's not your 'thing'," You make quotation marks with your fingers to emphasize your point,"Then WHY," He cringes at your yelling, leaning away from you as you continue,"Are you HOLDING the MAP!?"

Aeren finally snaps, whipping around,"BECAUSE MOM TOLD ME TO ALRIGHT!?" He bellows. You recoil as his voice echoes across the sparshly decorated landscape. 

He steps closer, pointing a finger at your face as he brings down his voice,"Mom told me to keep you safe-"

He didn't get to finish before you slap his hand away and cut him off,"Safe from what?! I can handle myself!"

"More like I need to save you from yourself!"

"Oh-ho, puh-lease!" You chortle, poking him in the chest,"You couldn't protect me from sausage!" Your intense tone cracked and you stifled a smile at your own words.

Aeren was doing his best to keep up your little argument, but no matter what he did there was still a chuckle buried in his voice,"At least sausage would be more cooperative than you! And Hell, I'd even let it kill you because it was soooo nice about it!" He threw his arms up, trying and failing to hide his own amusement.

"Oh really?" You crossed your arms, trying to be serious despite your cheeks threatening to puff out from your muffled giggling.

"Yeah!"

For a few, mildly tense moments you two just stared at each other. The breeze picked up again, wafting under your jackets and causing them to billow for a bit. Neither of you said a word, glaring as intensely as you could at one another.

But the moment was broken when you let out a small 'pfft', your cheeks puffing out again. His face twitched and curled as he held back his laughing until neither of you could take it anymore, and before you knew it both of you were laughing uproarously.

He leaned on his knees,"Seriously?! A sausage?! That's the best you could come up with?!" His words were broken up with wheezing laughter as he ran out of breath.

You bent over, holding your stomach,"I don't know! It just came to me!" You started coughing as you laughed,"My stomach hurts!"

"Then you shouldn't be laughing!" Aeren could barely even bring himself to state the obvious before he lost it again.

Both of you continued to laugh, despite the unbearable heat and even so it wasn't that bad anymore. And even so, neither of you really cared anymore, the earlier tension gone. Eventually you were able to gather yourselves and head off again, smiles on your faces as you headed off further into the unknown.

That's how you two were. Even if you could get on each other's nerves, neither of you could keep it up for long before busting a gut laughing at your own ridiculousness. Despite being siblings, you got along surprisingly well, given certain circumstances, and even managed to succeed in many hunts together whilst arguing furiously. There were few words to describe what you two had, but it was something deeper than that of brother and sister. Something stronger. If one went somewhere the other would follow. If one was down the other wouldn't leave them behind. If one was hurt the other would seek vengeance on their behalf. Neither of you could survive without the other.

It was a bond of trust and faith that ran so deep it almost surpassed love.

And that's how you found yourselves here today, in the afternoon during the blazing heat of the Duscae summer. Not even a Behemoth would want to be out in this heat, let alone two young adults seeking their payroll.

Speaking of which, it had been a while now and there had been no sign of green or flying needles anywhere.

You raised a hand, shielding your eyes from the sun,"Where are those little bastards anyway? I thought you said they were in this area?" You asked, looking over at your brother.

"Uh, yeah, they're supposed to be," He said over the sound of rustling paper as he twisted it around,"I'm not too sure where though."

You hummed under your breath, turning back to the empty landscape. There wasn't much to look at in terms of fauna; Hell there were more rocks than anything. And not even the big kind that you could sit next to when you needed to escape the hot sun. It was just a normal arid wasteland, albeit a bit boring.

Until something small and obnoxiously green bolted right past the both of you.

"There it goes! Get it!" You shouted, pointing in the direction the Cactaur went and running after it. Aeren fumbled with the map for a bit before haphazardly stuffing it back into his pocket and chasing after you.

And just like that you were off, chasing down the little green gremlin like it had just robbed you both. It did everything it could to get you two off it's trail, from diving through small cracks and crevices to throwing needles your way. There were many moments where you both had to rip needles out of your jackets from just how many the damn pin cushion threw, and many more times you'd had to avoid getting needled in the face. The damn things were smart, you'd give them that, but it didn't stop either of you. As a matter of fact you chased it down harder. Your lungs burned and every muscle in you cried out but you didn't care. You loved it.

Chasing after your target had always been the exciting part of your jobs.

It was as you were running through a particularly boulder riddled area that a loud bang rang out before something whizzed by you and buried itself into the stone.

"Whoa!" You leaped so far back you fell on your ass with a thump.

"I'M SORRY!"

"(Y/N)!" You heard your brother shout. He wasn't to far behind you so he caught up quickly, skidding to a stop and dropping to your side,"Are you alright?" He was checking you as he spoke, hands hovering above your body.

You merely shook yourself out of your daze, blinking,"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright, don't worry." You said. He sighed in relief, standing and offering you a hand to help you up. You took it and got to your feet, looking over to where you'd heard the projectile hit the stone. There was a small, perfect circle in the middle of some serious chipping on it's surface. Aeren grips your shoulder harder than normal.

You pale a bit. A bullet hole. Someone just shot at you. 

The shock of that fact doesn't have time to settle as you both hear footsteps running towards you. You both look away from the unsettling sight to see someone coming towards you. A blonde man, dressed in a leather vest and sleeveless shirt with black jeans, was racing over to you, worry in his sky blue eyes. 

He skidded to a stop, flailing a bit as he lost balance,"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!"

It took only two seconds for you to notice the gun clenched tightly in his shaking hand, finger off the trigger. And it took even less time for you to blow.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT?!" You shouted, shoving Aeren out of your line of sight so you were glaring at this little gun happy ass hat. Aeren shouted his own dissent at your action but you could care less right now. You were livid you could have died.

The man flinched away,"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

You cut him off,"I don't give a shit, ass-bagger, you could have killed me!" You stormed up to him, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and hoisted him up to your level,"What kind of bullshit-ery were you thinking about to just randomly fire off at people?!"

He was freaking out as you literally kept him on his toes,"I said I was sorry! I didn't see you-I wasn't even aiming for you! I was just-wow you're really strong," He stopped rambling when you shook him violently and he grabbed your arms,"Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh I'm going to hurt you, fuckass!" You shouted in his face as you shook him, getting more pissed off each second. You finally stopped shaking him and leaned in closer,"I'm going to rip your fucking balls off for that!" He squealed pretty loudly for a guy and tried to squirm out of your grip.

"HEY!"

The sound caught both of your attentions and you looked away from him. Three more men were running towards you; well two were, apparently the third and also the one who shouted was already standing a few feet away, sword in hand. He held the blade steady as he pointed it at you,"Put him down."

The blonde thrashed in your grip,"Noct! Help me! Make her put me down!"

You scowled as you looked this 'Noct' guy over. He was short, just like the one in your grip but he had darker hair, almost black. He wore a short sleeved jacket, black shirt and pants despite the relentless Duscae heat. But despite his apparently stubborn attitude he was sweating pretty heavily and panting under his breath. 

You snorted,"Back off, short stack, this's got nothing to do with you." You returned your attention to the man in your grip and you shook him lightly while he whimpered,"I just have a score to settle with this one."

"'That one' is my friend. Now put him down." 'Noct' said firmly, not wavering for a second even though he had to be at least a bit tired.

You growled lowly,"If you know what's good for ya fuck off. I'm busy."

"Busy threatening our colleague, I assume."

Your eyes snapped over to the new voice. Apparently while you were distracted the other two men finally caught up and were standing fairly close to this 'Noct' asshole, the one who spoke adjusting his glasses at you. Whoever this guy was, he sounded high class and snooty, and even had the fucking suit to boot. 

Your scowl deepened,"Your 'colleague'," You emphasized the word by giving the blonde another shake and he whimpered,"Almost shot me. And unless you intend to do the same I don't see how you're involved."

He pressed his lips into a thin line, tensing his shoulders as he regarded you,"I assure you, we have no ill intentions."

The forth man finally spoke, his deep voice catching your attention immediately,"Just put him down. Nobody wants to start a fight."

You didn't even care to look at his attire when your eyes snapped to him and you set the blonde back onto his feet to get a good look at the new asshole,"What, you wanna go, muscle-head?" Despite being back on his feet, the blonde still couldn't run away as you held his collar in a tight grip.

Aeren took that moment to speak up, probably because he knew that if he didn't you'd get yourself in trouble again,"(Y/n), calm down-" 

He didn't get to say much before you whipped your head around to glare at him,"No! He shot at me!" The blonde nearly tripped from how fast you'd moved and the new angle he was standing at.

The man in the suit spoke up,"I assure you he had no intention on hurting you."

You whipped around again, getting more angry by the minute,"I don't fucking care, beanpole, he still shot at me!"

He didn't look even mildly insulted, which pissed you off even further,"Irregardless, there is no need for violent-"

He didn't get to finish before 'Noct' stepped up again, blade held tightly in his grip,"Doesn't matter. Let him go, now." His blue eyes blazed as they stared into yours.

You merely scoffed at him,"And who made you King of the desert?" When he didn't back down, and the others started stepping closer, preparing for a fight, you snarled,"Fine. You want him?" The blonde shrieked in surprise as you grabbed him in a headlock with one arm. He flailed about, trying to escape your grip as you clenched your free fist at your side,"Come and get him!"

Aeren again spoke up, stepping closer with raised hands,"(Y/n), come on, you've got to calm down."

You whipped around fully to glare at him, the blonde in your grip stumbling after you,"I will not calm down! He tried to-" You were cut off when the Cactaur you had been chasing made another appearance, peeking around the corner. 

That was what made you snap. The damn thing was watch you lose your shit,"YOU DAMN GREEN SHITSTAIN I'M GONNA CUT YOUR DAMNED HEAD OFF!" 

It freaked out at your yelling and ran off behind the boulder but didn't get far before you threw one of your throwing knives attached to your belt at it and missed, the blade clanging against the stone,"Yeah you better fuck off, you punk ass bitch!"

Aeren was now approaching you with intent, his own eyes blazing,"Dammit (Y/n), get yourself together! Let him go!"

"Oh, now you're with them, aren't you fuckass?!" The blonde in your grip was struggling harder to get out. You tightened your arm around him and hiked him up higher so you could look him in the eyes,"Where you think you're going, ya little fucktard?"

'Noct' stepped forward again,"I'm warning you, put him down! Now!"

You glared at him over your shoulder,"And I'm saying come get him, bitch-boy!" He actually looked offended at that.

"Noct! Help!" He gagged around your forearm,"Her arms are too thick! I can't breathe!"

You looked back at him,"You're about to stop breathing!"

The largest of them stepped closer, shoulders tensing,"Let him go."

"(Y/n) stop it! Let him go!" Your brother tried again, his own body tense and ready to either fight or run.

You swung your arm out at him,"Fuck off, ass-bagger!" Turning back around to face the three men, tense and ready for a fight, you shouted.

"I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON, YA BITCH FUCKS! COME AND GET ME!"

But before anyone could do anything there was a loud, vicious crackling, before being followed by a dull pop. Everyone fell silent, listening.

"What was that?" 'Noct' whispered, his blade faltering only slightly.

The posh one spoke,"I'm not sure." He said, looking around warily. The larger man was in a similar state, swiveling his head around for any sign of attackers.

You could feel yourself going slack, the blonde wriggling in your grip. Behind you your brother whispered,"Oh shit...." and backed closer to you, bracing himself.

The blonde man looked up at you, whispering,"What's happening?" 

You didn't answer as a low growling came from behind you. Turning around, you watched in horror as a Couerl, a fucking Couerl, leaped on top of the boulder that had almost been your grave. For a few moments it was deathly silent as it's sharp eyes flicked from one to the next, judging each of you with predatory intent. It bared it's teeth as the three others suddenly called their weapons in a blast of blue sparks with the sound of shattering glass, and roared down at you all, whiskers crackling with lightning.

You looked down at the blonde in your grip and said in a completely serious voice.

"On second thought, shoot me I prefer the bullet."


	4. Claws and Fangs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Blood, Coeurls, Insults Make a Reappearance, Reader is Grumpy and Annoyed, Big Brother Has Had Enough of Your Shit

"Move!" Aeren shouted, shoving you back and away from him before vacating himself as the Coeurl leapt off of it's boulder perch and landed on the ground not too far away from the three of you. You stumbled only briefly at your brother's forceful push shifting your grip on the blonde so you were holding him around his torso and ran out of the feline's reach, dragging him along with only a mild complaint from him.

As you looked back something flashed across your sight in a blast of blue sparkles. The Coeurl howled as 'Noct's blade sank into it's hide. He hung there only briefly before dropping to the ground and throwing his blade back to where he was, disappearing in a shower of blue sparks before reemerging where his blade was.

You smirked widely,"Heh. Nice trick, emo hair!" You called out to him but he apparently ignored you. Except for the small annoyed frown he sported you would have believed it.

The blonde in your grip squirmed, catching your attention,"The Hell you wriggling for, huh shitstain?" He yelped at your words and struggled harder, trying to escape.

But before he could, a flash of silver darted across just out of your vision and you looked over just as the feline let out a roar. In it's hide was a very ornate silver dagger, blood trickling from the wound. It hissed viciously just as the one with the glasses ran past you both, followed quickly by the much larger man. The 'beanpole' was surprisingly elegant in how he retrieved his dagger, ripping it out and backflipping away before the Coeurl could swipe at him, returning to the action quickly after. The 'muscle-head' had a much more straight forward and brutish way of fighting, if the massive broadsword hefted over his shoulder was anything to go by as he swung it like it was weightless. 

You sneered at the group,"Show-offs..." You mumbled under your breath.

The Coeurl lashed out at your brother furiously, whiskers crackling loudly. He jumped back, just barely missing the beasts claws,"(Y/n)! A little help here?!"

You groaned loudly, your attention turning to him,"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" You let the man out of your hold and shoved him towards the battle. He stumbled a bit, underestimating your strength before gathering his bearings; it didn't last long before you kicked him squarely in the butt as soft as you could, sending him lurching towards his group with a yelp,"Get out of here before I kick your ass for real." You threatened before running off, leaving him jumping around and holding his backside.

A small dust cloud kicked up as you skidded to a stop next to your brother,"Alright, what's the plan here?" You asked, ducking down to avoid the Coeurl swinging it's crackling whiskers.

Aeren leaned back, just out of reach of the creature's extremities as the limb whisked by,"First, distract the damn thing because nothin's gettin even close with that thing running around. Then we get 'im where it hurts!"

Looking back to the fight your brother was right. The Coeurl wasn't standing still for more than a few moments before it leaped to another spot or pounced at one of your temporary 'teammates'. You looked back to him, brow raised,"And how do we do that?" 

"Just distract it!" He said before running off, yelling over his shoulder,"I don't care how, just get it to stand still for more than a few seconds, please!"

"Alright fine you don't have to shout at me!" Was all you got in before he was out of earshot, already diving headfirst into battle. You groaned under your breath, rolling your eyes,"Typical." You tsked to yourself and looked around, searching for anything you could use to distract the Coeurl. Glancing at the large boulders circling the area you grinned evilly, rubbing your hands together.

"I can work with this. He wants a distraction I'll give him one."

\-------------------

Noctis leaped back when the Coeurl sent a particularly ambitious lash of its whisker at him, the tip smacking the dusty earth and crackling with energy. He swiped at it but missed as the limb was swiftly retracted before being launched to someone else,"Gladio, watch it!"

Said shield turned around and dodged the incoming attack, just barely relieved when the whisker whipped over his face harmlessly before retracting back. He quickly ran over to him,"Nice catch." He said, taking position beside his prince. He looked back at the furious feline,"Got any plans for this?"

Noctis shook his head,"No idea. I don't even know why it's attacking us in the first place."

Backflipping out of the Coeurl's reach, Ignis took this moment to speak up,"Perhaps something angered it, something not related to us." The strategist said, green eyes briefly flicking in his direction as he spoke over the chaos,"We all did hear what transpired earlier, didn't we?"

Noctis looked at him fully then,"Yeah, what was that anyways? Sounded like an explosion."

Whatever the strategist might have said was quickly forgotten by a sudden disgusted 'Ew!' from Prompto. Everyone took the moment to look over to the blonde as he warded off the creature's fury whilst also trying to clean some type of green gunk off his face,"What is this, cat boogers?! Gross!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that!"

Prompto looked behind him when footsteps headed his way. The man stood at least a head taller than his best friend, wearing a sleeveless white vest over a silver tank top. In a way, he was wearing his color opposite, which made sense with Duscae's normal wheather and temperature. 

The stranger skidded to a stop next to him,"That's probably Cactaur guts. With the current overpopulation problems I don't see how it couldn't be."

Prompto paled,"You mean I've got whatever's left of one of those on me?!" When the stranger gave him a nod, he vehemently began to wipe off whatever green stuff he found on his person,"Ew, ew, ew! That's gross, that's disgusting." 

The man shrugged, narrowly dodging a stray whisker,"It's not that bad. One less pest to worry about."

Ignis cast a suspicious look at the man,"And whom can we thank for that informative insight?"

The stranger waved him off, unphased at his query,"No time for that," As he spoke he paused, reaching behind him and unsheathing the daggers strapped to his back and twirling them expertly,"Currently we have a Coeurl issue to deal with."

The shield grunted as the beast landed a heavy blow to his shield, pushing him back a bit,"Yeah? And how do we do that? The damn thing won't sit still long enough to get in a good hit!"

The strange man smirked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder,"My sis has it under contro-"

"HEY CUNT!"

His head snapped up to one of the boulders riddling the area and his smirk dropped into an expression of mortification. The others followed his example and looked up.

Noctis looked uncomfortable.

Prompto laughed awkwardly whilst blushing lightly.

Gladio snorted like a child but quickly coughed to cover it up.

And Ignis just cleared his throat in mild secondary embarrassment.

Because on top of one of the largest boulders was you, twerking obnoxiously to get the Coeurl's attention.

You looked over your shoulder, paying absolutely no mind to the embarrassed and confused looks you were getting from the others,"Come and get some of this, bitch!" You shouted, slapping your own ass and causing Prompto to yelp softly.

Surprisingly your plan was working. The Coeurl was staring right at you and hissing loudly, whiskers crackling and flailing visciously.

As the other men tried their damndest not to look, the stranger merely gripped both daggers in one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose hard with the other as he mumbled to himself.

"I don't have a sister. I have an asshole."

While the stranger was distracted the rest of the group watched as you quickly turn around and leap away, the Coeurl launching itself at you and smacking it's massive paws against the boulder. While it roared in frustration you slid down the side and landed on your feet, running around the boulder and behind the feline while it was busy searching for you, near blind as the sun was directly in it's eyes.

"With it's position in the boulder's shadow, the sun's light will keep it distracted long enough to land a blow. Interesting strategy, if I might say so." Noctis heard Ignis ponder aloud to himself, just barely noticeable amongst the current chaos. Irregardless he kept his focus on the stranger's colleague as she continued to stand behind the beast.

Suddenly she swung her arms out in a sweeping motion, for seemingly no reason at all. They all watched confused for but a moment before the Coeurl's paws suddenly stumbled and lost purchase on the solid ground. It fell to it's feet and roared in confusion, somehow unable to move its hind legs.

"What the Hell..." Noctis heard Gladio mumble but again he didn't pay it much mind.

The girl then dashed forward, charging the beast. He reached an arm out to call her off before she suddenly tipped forward and sank into the shadow of the beast, disappearing from sight entirely.

"Huh?! Wha-what the...?!?!? Where'd she go?!"

It wasn't long after the gunman's confused yelling that the same woman was suddenly launched high into the air, catapulted out of another boulder's shadow.

Her voice was a bit faint but they could still make out her shout of,"Suck on this, cunt!" Before she procured a pair of battle axes from seemingly thin air and launched them at the beast with startling accuracy. The blades pierced the Coeurl's hide cleanly and stayed there, the feline roaring out in pain and struggling against its restraints furiously. Gravity suddenly regained it's grip and the girl let out a "Whoa!" as she fell back to the ground, disappearing from sight.

The strange man then rushed the Coeurl, weapons drawn. He kicked the axes out of it's hide and sent them skyward, dealing his own damage before backing away, the axes falling to the ground with a clatter.

He looked back at them,"Well? What are you waiting for? She can't keep this up forever!"

For a moment, none of them did anything but stare, too confused to really do anything. It was Ignis who moved first, his feet light and quick as he avoided a stray whisker and Gladio quickly followed suit with a less coordinated but still powerful strike. Finally, Prompto and Noctis himself chased after them, all four facing the Coeurl together. The feline hissed and growled angrily at their assault on it's being, lashing it's crackling whiskers at them whenever they were in sight.

The girl made a sudden reappearance not too far away, launching out of the shadows as if she was fired out of a cannon whilst facing the wrong way. The strange man noticed from the corner of his eye and called out,"Hey! Fuck face!"

She whipped around, letting out a 'Huh?!' before gravity took hold again and she fell back into the ground and disappeared.

He groaned, ducking under a stray whisker,"Dammit! She'd better come back soon!"

\---------

Once again, you launched out of the void and sailed into the air with a small shout. A familiar hot and dusty wind blew heat away from your sweat soaked shirt and offered a mild relief to the desert sun. But in the few seconds you were in the air you couldn't hear anything; there was no sound of weapons nor angry cat anywhere.

"What the-" Was all you got out before your moment of flight was up and you fell into the shadows.

\--------------

The sound of crackling energy filled his ears and Aeren quickly leaped back, the whisker smacking the ground and kicking up dust. He coughed lightly, waving it away with a groan,"Where is she?" He mumbled to himself, watching the Coeurl struggle.

The feline howled furiously and yanked against the shadows holding it's hind paws fruitlessly as the quartet of strangers he had recently met kept up their assault. Their weapons were more powerful than his and your's combined,'Probably better made, too....' He thought to himself as the largest of their group swung his broadsword with an intimidating amount of strength.

The Coeurl swinging out at him madly brought him out of his musing and he recoiled, nearly losing his footing as a whisker was also sent his way. He was quick to regain his balance and return to the fight, thoughts still on his absent sibling.

'Where are you, you idiot?'

\-----------

Once again you were catapulted out of the shadows, except this time you landed on your face with a thump. You quickly pushed yourself of the ground with a grimace and spat out the sand and dirt you just ate. It didn't take more than a second for you to notice you were once again, in the wrong area.

"Son of a shit Hell, dammit!" You shouted to the empty desert around you as you turned tail and ran back into the cave you had just sailed out of, disappearing into the shadows.

\--------------

"Prompto, look out!"

Said blonde turned around just fast enough to notice the swipe aimed for him and jumped out of reach,"Whoa! Thanks Noct!" He said over the chaos, giving the prince a thumbs up.

He sent one back,"No problem." He said, returning his attention to the Coeurl.

Gladio grunted as he landed another blow to the feline's hide, dodging back as it lashed a whisker at him,"I think we've almost got it."

"Not too long now," The shield heard Ignis mumble from his position next to him.

Prompto let out a chuckle,"Alright! We're gonna live!"

The stranger made another appearance, running over to them,"Watch it! It's gonna-"

It was then that the Coeurl suddenly lurched forward. The stranger became deathly quiet, eyes wide as he stared at the beast over his shoulder. The feline rumbled in confusion, sniffing at the ground before turning towards them once more with a hiss. It's whiskers crackle ominously as it stalks towards them on it's now freed limbs.

Whatever he was going to say was lost in the moment. The group tensed, hands gripping their respective weapons as he simply mumbled aloud to himself.

"Oh shit."

\--------------

You were certain you were launched straight into the fucking sun this time with the amount of pure light hitting your eyeballs.

"Aaah! Son of a bitch, too bright, too bright!" You shouted and rubbed your eyes, trying to scrub the burning pain away. A soft gust of wind blew over your form in the few seconds you were airborn, chilling you straight to the fucking bone and you immediately ignored your eyes in favor of wrapping your arms around yourself.

"It's cold!" 

Anything else you might have said died on your tongue as you fell back into the hole you just came out of and darkness returned. Thankfully, it wasn't cold.

When you reemerged you were back in Duscae, on the same battlefield you'd just left a few minutes ago. For the last time you sailed into the air before finally dropping onto solid ground, sadly taking another face full of dirt but luckily you didn't get any in your mouth.

Spitting and rubbing the dirt off your face you sat on your knees,"Ew, gross." You said, running your tongue over your teeth.

A familiar shout caught your attention,"Hey, airhead!" You looked over, spotting your brother standing a few meters away,"You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" You said, dusting off the remainder of the sand on your pants,"Dusty though."

He laughed at your expense,"Well sucks for you then!" A snigger was your answer when you flipped him off. He turned around and faced the Coeurl,"You ready?"

A cocky smile lifted your lips,"Been ready for the past hour!"

He grinned at you over his shoulder,"That's what I like to hear! Chicken!" He shouted, throwing his blades up into the air. You ran up behind him, bounding off of a nearby boulder's side and onto his shoulders, catching the daggers in hand. He grabbed your shins as you twirled the blades until they pointed down. The strong presence of magic filled the air and you watched as your combined shadows suddenly transformed into a massive, writhing serpent. You could hear the mirage let out a vicious hiss towards the Coeurl as his attention focused upon it.

Said feline whipped around with an angry snarl, teeth bared and whiskers crackling. But once it set it's furious gaze on the much larger and deadly opponent it cowered away with its own hiss before quickly darting off, deciding that losing was better than dying.

The blonde you had threatened earlier was looking at the mirage with wide eyes, terrified at fighting something so much bigger than the Coeurl. The others in his group had a much less open response as they simply braced themselves for another attack, weapons at the ready.

But before they could do anything the image dissapated, and all there was left was you standing on your brother's shoulders, holding his daggers upside down. 

The blonde whispered a small 'What?' under his breath before he went silent. The others fell into the same bewildered state, watching you both stand there and look like idiots.

It was without warning that your world tipped when your brother finally buckled under you,"Whoa-Wait!" You both shouted as solid ground quickly caught up and you slammed onto your back with your brother's head caught between your legs, a cloud of dust puffing into the air. 

Footsteps thudded towards you and you could hear a somewhat familiar voice,"Hey! Are you guys alright?"

You looked up from your place on the ground annoyed,"Yeah, yeah just peachy, buttercup." The blonde looked shocked at your somewhat less demeaning nickname. You ignored him in favor of kicking Aeren in the ribs with your heel,"Get off of me, fuckstain."

"Gah!" He choked on his saliva and rolled away from your reach, clasping his side,"The fuck was that for?!"

Propping yourself on your forearms you gave him a frown,"For being so fucking clumsy." You stiffly stood up, brushing yourself off again and mumbling,"And thanks for getting me dirty again." 

Aeren got himself off the ground as well,"You're welcome, princess." He mocked, backing away from your swipe at him and straightening out his vest.

"Uhh....Hi?"

You glanced up from your jacket. The blonde was back, standing only a few feet away, thankfully without the gun in hand. You snapped and fingergunned at him with one hand,"Yo."

Your brother rolled his eyes and shoved your hand away, ignoring your leer as he turned his attention to the newcomer,"Please forgive my sister. She's a bit-" He was briefly cut off by you blowing a loud rasberry at him and he snapped his head towards you as you quickly looked away. He sighed deeply before continuing,"Brash."

The strange man blinked,"Uh, yeah.....sure"

Aeren smiled and nodded before turning to you,"(Y/n)," He gestured towards the blonde with his head, smile dropping,"Apologize." He glared at you when you frowned in distaste,"Now."

You held his gaze for a moment before snorting at him and looking towards the stranger,"Yeah, sorry," There was a brief pause before you smirked obnoxiously,"Sorry you pissed me off." The blonde flinched back a little.

"(Y/n)!"

"What?! He did!"

"As I said before, I can assure you there was no ill intent." That same posh voice caught your attention and you both looked toward it. The blonde's friends had caught up and were standing next to him, their weapons gone but they showed no violent intent. The man who spoke adjusted his glasses calmly,"Perhaps it would be prudent of you if we did not dispute that fact anymore."

You gave him a look,"The Hell does that mean, fucknugget?" Again the man did not look fazed in the slightest at your insult. The almost nonchalance of his behavior was starting to piss you off.

But before you got the chance to rail off on the guy your brother cut in,"Hey, chill out." He promptly ignored your irritated growl and returned his attention to the group,"Please do ignore my sister as she's not very good with socializing. With anyone." He glared back at you,"Ever." Again you snorted at him but he didn't care.

"Like an angry gremlin, then?" The largest of them snorted, crossing his arms,"Looks like it'd suit her."

Even though it was meant to be an insult you grinned, bowing arrogantly,"Why thank you, kind sir." You straightened and pretended to look at your nails,"It's not everyday someone calls me that."

You could hear the blonde mutter under his breath,"That wasn't a compliment though....?"

Your brother just groaned and rubbed his face with his hands,"You're going to be the death of me I swear..." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he spoke towards the group,"What're you guys doing out here in the boons anyways?"

The emo-kid must have decided it was his turn to speak,"We're out here on a job. Cactaur hunting."

"Yeah, uhh, overpopulation problems. Or something." The blonde added, rubbing his neck.

Aeren finally looked up at them,"How long you been out here? An hour? Two?"

"I would estimate around three if I went by the sun." Whoever that glasses wearing guy is he must be really intelligent by how he figured that out by just looking at the fucking fireball in the sky.

Your brother hummed in acknowledgement, silently pondering to himself for a moment. Then as if struck by a sudden thought he snapped his fingers,"I've got it. How about we invite you guys to our place?"

You gave him and incredulous look,"What?!"

He waved you off, completely ignoring your protest,"Just...think of it as our," He emphasized the word by yanking on your sleeve and dragging you closer while you groaned,"Official form of apology. Would that be alright with ya'll?"

The group seemed to think it over, looking between each other for confirmation. Finally the one you'd called bitch-boy spoke up, the somewhat cold expression he'd held softening,"Sure. Why not?"

Muscle-head spoke up again, whispering so you wouldn't hear, but you did,"Maybe because one of them is crazy?"

You scoffed, catching his attention,"I'm only crazy if I'm possessed. I'm perfectly sane you behemoth-"

"Alright, that's enough." Once again your brother cut in, yanking on your jacket sleeve and glaring down at you as you scowled back,"Go home and tell Mom we're having guests."

Your scowl deepened,"Why do I have to do it?"

He pulled you closer and mumbled low enough so no one but you could hear,"Because this is your fault in the first place, idiot. And if you tell Mom before they get there then she won't yell at you in front of other people and embarrass you again."

Finally you relented, yanking out of his grip,"Fine. Fucking fine, asshat. I'll go home." You angrily yanked off your jacket one sleeve at a time, mumbling obscenities under your breath."

The blonde spoke up again,"Uhm..." You looked at him sharply and he gulped,"H-How are you going to get back there? I don't see a car around....." He asked, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked around.

You gave the group another smirk and raised the jacket above your head,"Like this." Was all you said before falling straight into the ground, the jacket flopping lifelessly onto the sand. The four strangers stared wide-eyed, shocked by your sudden disappearance.

Aeren however simply picked up your jacket and threw it over his shoulder nonchalantly. He then turned towards the group with a benevolent smile.

"So. Shall we?"


End file.
